When Qwikster Died, Netflix Game Rentals May Have Gone With It

When Netflix decided — after a high degree of outcry from its users — that separating its physical DVD delivery operations from its streaming services was a horrible idea, the company was suspiciously mum on whether or not it would go ahead with its plans to provide mail-order video games.

Well, looks like CEO Reed Hastings has an answer for you, Gamasutra reports. It’s just not a definite one.

“We have yet to decide whether or not to offer video game discs,” Hastings said. “The decision will have little financial impact either way.”

The obvious question here: If it’s not too big a deal, why not just go ahead with video game delivery? At least Netflix would grab a share of a pie shared only by Redbox, GameFly and brick-and-mortar stores. It’s almost painful to read a story with the company’s name in the headline these days. The pioneer of mail-order movie services seems to be bleeding subscribers and making poor decision after poor decision.

Eder is a journalism major at the University of Oregon and copy chief of Flux, the School of Journalism and Communication's flagship magazine. When he's not playing video games or writing about them, Eder enjoys going to concerts, walking the UO campus with his trusty iPod, James McCloud, and climbing steep hills in running shoes. His favorite games include Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong Country 2, Bioshock and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.